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Hiring a Truck Accident Attorney or Bus Accident Lawyer in Hawaii

If you have been seriously injured in a truck or bus accident in Hawaii you
should consider getting the advice of an experienced motor vehicle accident attorney right away!
Here at Car Accident Attorney Hawaii we have been representing the victims of
serious injuries and wrongful death resulting from truck accidents, bus accidents and
other motor vehicle accidents for over 25 years.
For some considerations in finding the right car
accident attorney in Hawaii to assist you, please examine:

Truck or Bus Accident minimum insurance coverages

Hawaii
is a "no fault" state. That means that all drivers of motor vehicles
are required by law to maintain minimum insurance coverages applicable to
their vehicle under Hawaii law. The minimums for a truck or bus are generally the
same as for an automobile. These coverages are required by Hawaii law and generally
should be available to help to compensate a person for loss as the result of
negligent operation of the vehicle. (Optional additional coverages may also be available.)
These are the requirements under Hawaii law:

as of the writing of this webpage.
The links to the current Hawaii law according to the
State of Hawaii website are also provided on the pages
which are found on the above links.

Deadlines to file Truck or Bus Accident claims in Hawaii

The
deadline for filing a lawsuit in court in Hawaii to make claims for
injuries arising out of a
truck, bus or other motor vehicle accident is generally
two years from the date of the accident.
It should be noted, however, that there are exceptions to this rule- for example, claims
against the City and County of Honolulu and the various other Counties must be filed with the appropriate agency
within six (6) months of the date of the accident.
For some claims the deadline is extended by statute to two years from
the date of the last no fault, worker's compensation or
public assistance benefit payment related to the accident,
if such payments are made.
You must file your claims in
court prior to the expiration of such deadlines, or your
claims may be lost—regardless of their merit.
To be wise it is recommended that you immediately contact an attorney
after an accident giving rise to injuries occurs- please do not
hesitate to :

If
you have suffered injuries or loss as the result of a truck, bus or other motor vehicle
accident in Hawaii, you will probably want to obtain and
fill out a No Fault (Personal Injury Protection) benefits
application form from the insurance company for the vehicle
with which you were most closely connected (the vehicle in which
you were riding -if you were in a vehicle- or the vehicle that impacted
you if you were a pedestrian or a bicyclist). No Fault (PIP)
usually provides medical coverage for injuries arising out
of the use, maintenance or operation of a truck, bus or other motor vehicle
in Hawaii and it may also provide various other coverages
(wage loss, substitute services, funeral benefits, etc.)

In
Hawaii at present you generally must have at least a certain
amount in medical expenses actually paid by the No Fault (PIP) insurer - $5,000 (1/1/98 on)
- before you can recover for pain,
suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, wage
loss in excess of that paid by No Fault (PIP) and various other
losses caused by a truck, bus or other motor vehicle accident. However, there
are also a few other situations in which recovery for these
additional losses may be possible. These situations include
(1) accidents arising out of conduct for which punitive
damages could be awarded, (2) accidents resulting in death,
(3) accidents causing permanent loss of use of a part or
function of the body, (4) accidents giving rise to permanent
serious disfigurement which causes mental suffering, and (5) accidents in which the No Fault (PIP)
benefits are exhausted and a few other situations.

Do you ever wonder if a claimant should hire an attorney or "go it alone" on an accident case? Without an attorney, a claimant has no power to force an insurance company to do anything. According to page 5 of Allstate Insurance Company's own internal document entitled "Unrepresented Segment Training" (which was obtained in a lawsuit in Florida challenging Allstate's unfair claims settlement practices), "represented claims settle for 2-3 times more than unrepresented claims". You can see it for yourself here on page 5 (pdf page 4 of 7). If you review the rest of this pamphlet, you will see that some insurers, like Allstate, actually have training programs to teach their claims representatives how to best persuade claimants not to hire an attorney. Are you still wondering?

The information provided in these pages is intended to be preliminary
and informational ONLY. It is not legal advice by Truck Accident & Bus Accident Attorney Hawaii
nor may it be relied upon as such. The use of the
Truck Accident & Bus Accident Attorney Hawaii
webpages does not establish an attorney-client
relationship.
This page is Copyright
1999-2014.
All rights reserved. Its contents are the property of
William H. Lawson - Car Accident Attorney Hawaii